Play With Me, Kiyomaro!
by Brostar
Summary: With only a couple days left until he has to leave for England, Kiyomaro has many questions about Zatch that only his father can answer. But he is interrupted in class by none other Zatch! All he wants to do is play!
1. Another Ordinary Day

It was a perfect, cloudless day. Outside seemed like a distant pleasure, with only days counting down until the summer break. The schoolyard was empty as it reached midday. For Kiyomaro Takamine, summer would be no break. The Mamodo Fight was all he could think about. He and his mamodo partner, Zatch would have to endure more mamodo fights in order to survive. He was too busy daydreaming to worry about the fight itself but in the back of his head he kept it as a top priority.

"Takamine! What is the answer to this question!" a loud yell came from the head of the classroom.

Kiyomaro stood up and stared back at the teacher. Kiyomaro always had this look to him, as if he was constantly bored. Up until he met Zatch, Kiyo was constantly skipping school because of his genius IQ. "The answer is square root of three". The teacher looked like his blood was about to boil. "Good answer Takamine" he uttered, gritting his teeth.

Kiyomaro sat down and resumed his previous thoughts on the Mamodo Fight. The fight to be king would be tough and harrowing decisions would have to be made, but he was ready for anything – well _almost _ could never seem to come up with right excuse for explaining to his friends why he was always absent or why he came to school with cuts, bruises and bandages. Even Suzy seemed to be oblivious to this. Then again, Suzy was oblivious to everything.

Summer vacation started the day after tomorrow. He would have to travel to England and see his father so he could figure out who Zatch really is. His fight with Rhonos left him with a lot of questions. A voice came from below Kiyo's desk, interrupting his thoughts. "Psst, hey Kiyo! Play with me."

It was Zatch, hidden in a duffel bag. How Zatch managed to infiltrate the school every single time, without notice perpelexed Kiyo. Even someone of his genius couldn't figure it out. Kiyomaro shook up from his chair. "ZATCH! What are you doing here? How many times have I told you not follow me school?!" Zatch gave him a blank stare, doe eyed as ever and simply replied "But I was home all day helping your mom and I got bored so I decided to play with you instead."

"I can't play with now Zatch. I'll do it later.", he muttered, desperately focusing on the teacher, making sure his attention didn't avert to Zatch. _Yea, that's it. Keep talking. Don't look over here_, Takamine thought to himself. He went to see if Zatch was still beneath his desk, only to find the duffel bag empty. His face froze with fear. _Great! Now where could he have gone?!_

--

At the end of the school day, Suzy Mizuno, his classmate, approached Kiyo. Suzy greeted him with a smile. "Hey Takamine! Are you going to help me with my math homework?"

"Sorry Suzy, I have to find Zatch before he gets into any trouble." Kiyomaro slung his backpack over his shoulder and proceeded to search the school grounds. Leaving the classroom, he saw Suzy in front of him with a pear with sad face drawn onto it. "But you said you'd help Suzy with her math homework, Takamine. And if you don't she'll be very upset", Suzy said in mock voice for the pear. "Yea Kiyo, you gotta help me!" She gave Kiyo the puppy dog look. _You can't be serious_ he thought.

"C'mon Suzy. Help me find Zatch and I'll have plenty of time to help you with your homework."

Suzy instantly followed Kiyomaro in hopes of finding Zatch somewhere in the school.


	2. Hide and Seek

Zatch got himself lost in the annals of the Kiyomaro's school. As the blond haired child made his way through the empty halls, he looked around, unsure of his surroundings. "I wonder where Kiyo is?" he asked himself, slightly mislead by his own sense of direction. Poor Zatch looked out to the window in the hallway and decided to take a peek. He saw the track team practicing after school hours.

"ZATCH!" a voice yelled from down the hall.

Kiyomaro was running full speed at him with his oni face fully present. He was quite furious at Zatch for just leaving without so much as a peep. Zatch's eyes watered up at the thought of what was to befall him. Kiyomaro gave him the infamous oni glare. "Zatch…what did I tell you about coming to school? It's dangerous!"

Zatch's eyes welled up. He bit his lower lip before blurting in a sobbing voice. "I only wanted to play with you before we left! You promised me you would!" he yelled out to his book owner, frustrated at the very thought of Kiyomaro upset. Kiyo put his palm on his face, dissatisfied with the idea of actually playing with Zatch. He already told Suzy to meet him outside since he would look for Zatch himself. And on top of that he had to help Suzy with her homework.

"Alright Zatch, I will play with you for a while. But I have to help Suzy with her homework. And if you're good, I'll have mom cook your favorite: yellowtail."

Zatch's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, his mouth already drooling from the delectable taste of yellowtail for supper. "I promise, I'll be good. Isn't that right Vulcan 300?" Zatch exclaimed, pulling out his cardboard box robot from out of nowhere.

Zatch followed Kiyomaro to the entrance of the school where Suzy was already waiting for them both. She waved at both of them. _Now I need to figure out what to play with Zatch…I've got it!_ Kiyomaro waved at Suzy and proceeded to lay down the plan. "Say Suzy, Zatch and I are going to play a game before I help you with your homework. Wanna join in?"

"Sure Takamine, I'd love to!" she said gleefully. "What game are we playing?" she inquired, bright eyed to the thought of actually spending recreational time with her beloved boy genius.

"We're going to play hide and seek. We'll hide and Zatch will have to seek us out." _Zatch will never be able to find us _he snickered in thought. Kiyo's attention now averted to Zatch gave way to a sheepish grin. "Now Zatch you gotta count to 100 and find Suzy and I! No peeking!"

With that said, the blonde haired Mamodo turned around and started counting, his hands covering his eyes. Takamine and Suzy made a dash for it, Kiyo with the intent of keeping Zatch distracted for a little while. Now all he had to do was get Suzy off his back.


End file.
